Football Five: Alfred State at Defiance

Alfred State travels to Ohio to take on Defiance College in their final non-conference game of the 2021 schedule for the Pioneers.

• Meeting History: The Pioneers and the Yellow Jackets are squaring off for the first time. The two teams were supposed to play in 2020 but COVID cancelled the traditional fall season.
• Last Game: Alfred State fell 20-17 at home to the University of New England last week while Defiance lost 51-0 in their home opener vs. Albion (MI) two weeks ago.
  • Alfred State and the University of New England battled back and forth until the final seconds of their non-conference match-up. UNE jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the early going before the Pioneers bounced back with a pair of Aaron Jenkins rushing touchdowns (5 and 2 yards) to make it 14-13 at the half. Dawson Fontaine connected on a field goal in the 3rd to make it 17-13 but the Nor'easters responded with a 64-yard touchdown drive to retake the lead. The Pioneers final possession of the game was a roller coaster of emotions with big plays, costly penalties, and a tying field goal attempt that went wide with 28 seconds left in the game. Jenkins finished 16 for 34 for 192 yards and accounted for 31 yards rushing and two scores. Jake Palmer rushed 19 times for 84 yards and Ben Ba caught seven passes for 69 yards. Joel Smith and Silas Egenlauf led the Pioneer defense with nine tackles. Smith had a sack and Eglenlauf intercepted a pass.
  • Defiance couldn't get the offense going and were held to just 119 total yards vs. Albion. Cole Recker led the offense throwing for 69 yards. He completed 9-of-21 passes during the contest. Amin Shaheed led the Yellow Jackets with 52 receiving yards on three catches. Tyshaun Freeman led the rushing attack with 48 yards on 15 carries. Thomas Coltrain led the defense with 13 total tackles while Justin Caballero and Daveon Williams each added six stops.
• Game Notes:
  • After falling behind early last week, the Pioneer defense stepped up vs. the University of New England. Silas Egenlauf had a big interception in 4th quarter and Josh Borowicz had two big sacks.
  • The Yellow Jackets have had four different quarterbacks throw a pass in their first two games. Daylon Lange and Cole Recker have taken the majority of the snaps. Lange has completed 64% of his passes for 170 yards while Recker has completed 41.9% for 103 yards. Defiance has allowed 12 sacks, thrown four interceptions, lost four fumbles this season.
  • Alfred State has had three different wide receivers lead the way in each of their three games. Roman Napoleon had 164 yards on five catches vs. Utica, Shy'rel Broadwater had nine catches for 249 yards vs. Rochester, and Ben Ba had seven catches for 69 yards vs. New England. Aaron Jenkins is completing 47.4% of his passes and has passed for 766 total yards.
  • Jake Palmer had his most productive running game of the season last week. His 84 yards accounted for almost half of his season total of 178.
  • Thomas Coltrain has been a force for the Yellowjackets. 15 of his 16 tackles have been solo. Maurice Brewer (11) and Justin Caballero (10) are the only other two players with 10 or more stops.
• ECFC News:
  • This is the final week before conference play begins next week with three games on the schedule.
  • Current Standings: Gallaudet 1-0, Castleton 2-1, Anna Maria 1-1, Dean 1-2, Maritime 0-2, Alfred State 0-3, Keystone 0-3
  • For more information on the ECFC visit: https://www.easterncollegiatefootball.com/landing/index
• Game Details: 
  • Opening kickoff is slated for Noon. Click here to follow the Live Stats
  • Alfred State is off next weekend before beginning ECFC play on October 9th when they host Maritime.